The Council's decision ensures that farmers, beekeepers and rural residents can find out exactly where GE crops are planted — basic information that is critically important as they seek to protect their farms, apiaries and families from toxic pesticide drift and contamination by pollen from GE plants.

This important decision ends the secrecy that was imposed by Monsanto and its Chilean partners. Beekeepers and ordinary people will be better prepared to defend their traditional farms, bees and families from exposure to the associated aerial spraying. It will now be possible for people to ensure that GE seed growers are legally accountable for contamination of organic and conventional crops and pollen.

Rozas reports that the multinational seed corporations lobbied hard against greater transparency, but in the end, "the Council sided with citizen rights." The Council decision came after Monsanto appealed a similar 2010 ruling.

Pushing back against GE promotion

Currently, Chile only allows GE crops to be grown for export, not for internal consumption. The Chilean government may soon consider both labeling of GE crops and the possibility of opening domestic markets to GE crop consumption.

But there is a strong national campaign in Chle against the spread of GE crops (also known as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs). The "I don't want GMOs in Chile"campaign reflects widespread concerns that GE crop plantings in the country undermine both food sovereignty and integrity of traditional seeds and agricultural practices.

There is still much work to be done to enforce transparency, and to ensure that Chile's policies heed scientific evidence of the negative impacts of GMOs on farming, agriculture and food systems adapted to local growing conditions and climate over generations.